1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to automatic markup language based digital content transcoding and, more specifically, it relates to a method to simplify, split, scale and hyperlink HTML web content for providing a new method to repurpose legendary web content authored for desk top viewing to support smaller devices using limited network bandwidth such as palmtops, PDAs and data-enabled cell phones wirelessly connected with small display areas and processing capacities.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the popular use of Internet, vast and still growing amount of content have been made available through typical desktop browsers such as Internet Explorer (from Microsoft), Navigator (from AOL), and Opera (from Opera). They are coded in standard markup languages such as HTML and JavaScript. However, majority of them have been authored to fit regular desktop or notebook computers with large screen size, big processing capacity connected with high speed network.
As the web steadily increases its reach beyond the desktop to devices ranging from mobile phones, palmtops, PDAs and domestic appliances, problem in accessing legendary web content start to surface. Constraints from form factor and processing capacity render them practically useless on these devices. To solve this device dependency problem, one most cost effective approach is to provide intermediary adaptation in the content delivery chain.
Examples such as transcoding proxies can transform markup languages by removing HTML tags, reformatting table cells as text, converting image file formats, reducing image size, reducing image color depths, and translating HTML into other markup languages, e.g. WML, CHTML, and HDML. More involved approaches extract subsets of original content, either automatically or manually, or employ text summarizing techniques to condense the target content. Even more elaborated systems include client components using proprietary protocols between intermediaries and corresponding programs running in client devices to emulate standard browser interfaces, such as Zframeworks from Zframe Inc.
The main problem with conventional markup content transcoding is its inability to handle the sheer volume of content, both text and images, etc. inside the document for small devices. Arbitrary linear approach to partition the content based on markup language codes often makes the results unorganized with the original presentation intent lost. Summary techniques second guess the author's intent and are not able to always satisfy user's need.
Another problem with conventional markup content transcoding is its inability to handle common hidden semantics inside web documents such as HTML tables. However, authors are increasingly marking up content with presentation rather than semantic information and render the adapted content unusable.
Another problem with conventional markup content transcoding is its complexity in supporting new devices with different form factors. Instead of gracefully scaling the target transcoding result from small to large display devices, it relies on case-by-case settings requiring expensive development effort to support new devices.
Another problem with some conventional markup content transcoding is reliant on manual customizations to edit, select or annotate original content to assist adaptation process, which tends to be costly, error prone and not readily scalable.
Another problem with some conventional markup content transcoding is its dependency on specialized client software. Both deploying proprietary software to various client devices and administrating/configuring server adaptation engine increase cost significantly. This defies the original purpose of automatic content adaptation in place of adopting complete content re-authoring.
In these respects, Content Divide & Condense, the method to generate and scale document partitions with navigational links from single web content according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a new method to transcode web content authored for desk top viewing into smaller ones to accommodate small display areas and capacities in mobile devices.